The invention relates to an alarm, or monitoring, and control system for at least one switch cabinet that can be opened and closed by an operator.
An alarm and control system of this type is described in DE 200 06 373 U1; the core of this known alarm and control system is a single module with a microprocessor to which a plurality of function units are connected. Thus, input units such as a keyboard, a transponder unit, and/or an optical sensor for receipt of a finger print are connected to the module or, respectively, to its microprocessor, whereby the corresponding signals are processed in the microprocessor of the module such that the received signals are compared with verification codes stored in the microprocessor and the result is transmitted to an electrically functioning locking unit of the switch cabinet connected to the module as a control command commanding the release of the door lock controlled by the locking unit or, in the event of the absence of agreement between the received signal and the justification code, commanding the door lock to remain closed. In association therewith, further signal processing tasks are performed by the microprocessor; thus, the microprocessor controls the energy supply for all connected units, and furthermore, a connection to external network devices such as, for example, a mobile telephone network, is produced or, respectively, operated.
The disadvantage is connected with the known alarm and control system that the microprocessor forming the core of the module must be designed in correspondence with the respective prescribed function requirements and control requirements. As the requirement profiles can change during the lifetime of the switch cabinet or, respectively, during the lifetime of the installed alarm and control system, the microprocessor is, on the one hand, designed with a corresponding reserve in order to connect, as the occasion arises, to further function units and to perform additional signal processing. As a consequence thereof, the installed capacity reserve, which is connected with additional costs, remains unused during conditions in which there is no occurrence of an alteration. On the other hand, if the microprocessor is designed in correspondence with the actual requirements of the alarm and control system an its installation, an expansion of the requirement profiles is only possible if a new microprocessor with correspondingly larger processing capacity is deployed which is, in any event, expensive. A further disadvantage to be noted is that, with respect to the known alarm and control system, a disturbance of the function or, respectively, a fallout of the microprocessor leads to a fallout of the entire control of this switch cabinet that can have significant consequences for the operational security of such devices.